Chocolate Nut Butter Fat Bombs - a LCHF treat

Do you CRAVE a melt-in-your-mouth delicious (yet highly nutritious) treat now and then?

Well, here it is...

My very delicious, and incredibly tasty...

CHOCOLATE NUT BUTTER FAT BOMB - a truly delectible LCHF treat. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 Tbsp Swerve Icing Sugar (or less if your sweet tooth isn't that sweet)

1/2 cup smooth nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew... go crazy!)

2 /1/2 Tbsp cacao powder

Dash of salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Instructions:

Melt coconut oil over med/low heat.

Add sweetener to oil and dissolve. This takes a few minutes but is well worth the effort.

Add nut butter. Stir until all ingredients are blended and smooth.

Add cacao powder and dash of salt. Stir until cacao powder is well blended and smooth.

Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.

Pour into silicone candy molds, then put in freezer for an hour.

Once frozen, remove from molds into a freezer container - keep frozen until needed.

Makes approx. 45 - 1 tsp size treats.

Heart shaped silicone molds - each heart is 1 teaspoon.

Great non-alcoholic vanilla extract.

Some notes of interest:

I used to use xylitol - the one made from the Birchwood tree, not corn. But then I discovered SWERVE - the icing sugar variety - it's incredible. So, take your pick, or use your favourite sweetener.

Nut butter consistency matters if you want a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth sensation. However, if you love a little nut crunch, then go with the "crunchy" version of your favourite nut butter.

Use cacao powder, not cocoa powder.
The Difference and Why it Matters, by Corey Pemberton explains how these two forms of chocolate powder are indeed different. His post is worth reading.

Add the vanilla extract last. If you use a product that contains alcohol it will cause the mixture to bubble up, it does settle down but to avoid this I prefer organic, non-alcoholic vanilla extract.

The molds I use are silicone for ease of removal. Also, the mold size equals 1 teaspoon. I am able to fill 3 trays - each with 15 little heart molds. This gives me approx. 45 treats of 1 teaspoon size.

I use a little creamer for pouring the mixture into the molds. This takes practice, but you get professional looking treats for the effort.

These treats must remain in the freezer, or fridge, as the coconut oil will soften at room temperature. Depending on your climate, they may melt quickly, so take them from the freezer as you need them.

Enjoy!

CAKE in a CUP Recipe - LCHF

I discovered this sweet treat on Instagram but there were no measurements. I was left to play with them and create the following recipe based on what I was able to observe.

I thought it was amazing that after 2 minutes in the microwave a cute little sponge cake would emerge.

Anyway, I've experimented, after tweaking my initial measures I can now share this with you.

There are so many wonderful variations that can be done to this little cake that I encourage you to play around with it - add nuts, top it with whip cream, drizzle it with berries, slice it warm and serve it with butter - yum.

Okay... here it is...

CAKE IN A CUP

Ingredients                                   

1 Tbsp Coconut Flour                   
1/2 tsp Psyllium Husk                
1 1/2 tsp - 2 tsp Cacao Powder   (I have used 2 tsp for a more chocolatey flavour)              
1/2 tsp - 2 tsp Xylitol   (adjust according to sweetness desired, and sweetener used)                             
1/8 tsp Baking Soda                       
Dash of Salt  
1 Tbsp Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)  This is optional!                              

Mix these dry ingredient together with a fork in a mug that can go into the microwave.

In a separate glass blend the wet ingredients together then add them to the dry ingredients.

1 egg
1 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp Whipping Cream (or full-fat yogurt, or sour cream works just as well)
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix this all together so it's all well blended. Then at the end add:

1/4 tsp vinegar

Mix everything, then cover the cup with a small saucer (this is optional)

Microwave for 2 minutes. When done, tip onto a cooling rack. (My microwave is a small, lower voltage one so I leave it in for 2 mins. 10 seconds.)

ENJOY.


Some things to note:

This little cake does expand. You will need a cup that holds at least 1 1/2 cups liquid when full. This allows for expansion and a little breathing room under the saucer.

You can play with the Cacao Powder - by adding a little less or more depending on your taste.

You can also play with the sweetness - I made one cake using 1 tsp of Xylitol instead of 1/2 tsp - it was also very yummy, but not much sweeter.

I used powdered Xylitol for one test cake (I grind it in the blender and keep a bag of powdered on hand) and found I needed more than if I used it in its original form - seems 1 tablespoon of powdered equals about 1 teaspoon of granules.

If you prefer a different sweetener than Xylitol give it a go. Having worked with most of them I find, for my taste, the Xylitol is most like sugar - same measurements, same look/texture, same baking results. Also, it has no impact on blood sugar/insulin levels.

I used whipping cream as the outer icing and then I heated 1/4 cup** of frozen blueberries which I drizzled over the cake (as featured here). It was so delicious. **originally I had written 1/2 cup, but it was only 1/4 cup.

I'm going to slice the next one in half horizontally and fill it with whip cream, fresh sliced strawberries and make a glaze using butter, cream cheese and xylitol.

The variations are endless... I might see if I can do a carrot cake version!

You can find more photos on my Instagram site.

Leave a comment if you end up creating your own version - it's fun seeing what others come up with.

To your health,

     Jenny